Spencer, Iowa — Pretrial conferences in two Clay County cases were to have taken place on Tuesday, January 10th. One of them took place, but the other did not.
In the case of a Milford man accused of the robbery of Barb’s Corner near Everly back in March — according to court records, there was a pretrial conference for 40-year old Joshua Emerson Mandelkow, but Clay County Attorney Kristi Kuester says it was uneventful, and the trial is still scheduled for Tuesday, February 21st in Clay County District Court.
Clay County authorities accuse Mandelkow of robbing Barb’s Corner while armed with a shotgun. Deputies made contact with a suspect vehicle about 15 minutes later, leading to contact with Mandelkow, who reportedly turned his shotgun on himself as they approached his vehicle. He was taken to Rochester, MN for treatment of his injuries. When he had recovered, Clay County authorities filed charges of First Degree Robbery, Going Armed With Intent, and Intimidation With A Dangerous Weapon.
In the case of a former Spencer pastor who is charged with sexual exploitation by a counselor, according to court records, Kevin Grimes’ pretrial conference did not take place as scheduled on Tuesday. Instead, Kuester says it was continued to Monday, January 23rd, which she says more closely aligns with the defense’s deadline for pretrial motions. She says the trial is also still set for February 21st, but she says it may not happen because there’s a full slate of cases that day and Grimes’ case is lower in the list.
